The FINAL DESTINATION 3 dvd which was released a couple weeks ago is notable for animation fans because it has an original animated short included as a special feature. The Flash animated cartoon - IT’S ALL AROUND YOU - was directed by Canadians Nick Cross and Helder Mendonca and thanks to some kind animation fan, it’s now been posted on YouTube. Animation, design, color and storytelling are all top-notch. And how often does that happen nowadays? Check out the film below.

In case you haven’t noticed, CG animated penquins are apparently hot (at least among the Hollywood movers and shakers). Just take a look at MADAGASCAR, HAPPY FEET and SURF’S UP. Now Berkely Breathed has chimed in on the CG debate in the current storyline of his comic strip, OPUS.(Thanks, Mark Bunker)

No, this isn’t a picture of the latest Disney Treasures DVD. It’s a new trade paperback from Gemstone Publishing, and another labor-of-love compiled by Gemstone’s Archival Editor David Gerstein (whose previous Mickey and the Gang: Classic Stories In Verse is a must-have). I did not grow up reading Disney comics myself (I was immersed in everything else, from Spider-Man to Baby Huey), but even back in those days I admired the stories and artistic skill of those books from afar.This new collection is truly special. In the tradition of the Maltin DVD collections, it compiles the best and most interesting examples of Disney comic art during the last 75 years and puts the stories in historical context. Gerstein begins the book with a detailed, yet concise, two page overview of the entire history of Disney comic strips and comic books. He then presents rare, restored Mickey newspaper strips from 1930 (by Floyd Gottfredson), prime examples of Sunday pages (including a rare Uncle Remus strip), and un-P.C. Carl Barks material that has never been reprinted. Great comics from Disney legends Paul Murry and Al Hubbard through the modern works of Don Rosa, William Van Horn as well as great European cartoonists like Cesar Ferioli and Vicar fill the 160 pages. I think anyone who loves Disney animation will enjoy this journey through their rich comics history. But if the names Walt Kelly, Gil Turner or Al Taliaferro mean anything to you, or if Bucky Bug, Gyro Gearloose or Super Goof rock your world, Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Comics 75 Years of Innovation is definitely for you.

In last Friday’s SLATE, Jill Hunter Pellettieri examined the ceaseless glut of talking animal movies being released by Hollywood animation producers. It’s not quite as incisive or hard-hitting as I would have liked such a piece to be, but it’s still worth a read. The article begins:

I’ll come clean: I’m a sucker for talking-animal movies. In fact, even a nonhuman talking object will do. But while I used to think anthropomorphization of any sort would give me my fix - whether a chubby sheep who hides sheepishly each time he’s shorn, or a penny who feels undervalued - Hollywood’s two latest attempts at the talking-creature genre, The Ant Bully and Barnyard, have made me doubt my faith forever. If the first half of the 20th century was the golden age of animation, I fear we’re now entering the Dark Ages.

Joe Dante sent us what must be the first article ever published about Warner Bros. cartoons. It’s from the December 7th 1930 edition of the L.A. Times and you can read it here. If anyone knows of any print publicity dated earlier than this, please let us know.

Didier Ghez, editor of the fine WALT’S PEOPLE interview series, has started a blog called the Disney History Blog. He describes the site as “interesting discoveries about Disney history, vintage Disneyana, Disney artwork, the Walt’s People book series, and new books about Disney.” If the posts that Didier has made on the blog’s first day is any indication of what’s to come, he’s definitely got me hooked as a regular reader.

Warning: You may want to finish your morning coffee and doughnut before watching this one. Animation writer Dani Michaeli (SOUTH PARK) made this funny film a couple years back and it has regained a certain amount of relevance following Mel Gibson’s recent escapades. It is mostly filmed in real-time with minimal animation, but its sensibility is pure cartoon.

If you read just one blog post this week, then please make it this one. In the post, Milton Gray, a timing director on THE SIMPSONS, discusses the awful cartoon timing on current TV productions, followed by an in-depth examination of the artistic timing in the classic Warner Bros. shorts, especially in the works of Bob Clampett.

Milt’s post is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the discussion of timing. Comedic animation timing and pacing are essentially extinct arts in today’s animation world, with every show relying on the exact same mechanical timing formulas. The current production process is so compartmentalized and out of whack that animation directors no longer even have to know how to animate or to understand how to time actions and pace scenes. And the results are woefully evident by watching any of the shows currently produced by Nick, Cartoon Network and Disney. It’s doubtful that animation timing will ever return to the heights of Golden Age animation, but Milt’s article provides at least a start towards understanding the importance of timing in animation.